Saving Me From Myself
by Lumina The Vessel
Summary: Hans isn't able to reach Elsa in time to prevent her from killing the Duke's henchmen, sending Elsa down a destructive spiral that only her sister can rescue her from; because not all stories have a happy ending.
1. You're not safe here

**A/N: **Hello everybody, and welcome to my story. This is just the prologue, but there's more to come, I promise :) Don't forget to review to tell me what you think, I would really appreciate it. Also, this is **Elsanna, **as in **ElsaxAnna** so please don't read if you are offended by this pairing, even though it doesn't happen straight away. All mistakes are my own.

_Disclaimer:_ I own nothing from Frozen, all rights go to Disney. Though I'm sure if we pooled all of our money together we could buy it somehow... No? Worth a try ;D

_"Pleasure of love lasts but a moment. Pain of love lasts a lifetime." – Bette Davis_

* * *

The northern mountains were strangely quiet, even for early morning. There was no sign of any wildlife, the only sounds coming from the whistle of the freezing cold winds and the pounding hoof-beats of the men's horses. Hans brought his hand up to his face in an effort to block out the snow that was attempting to obscure his vision. Looking up in wonder at the massive ice castle in front of him (which was situated precariously on the side of the mountain, he noted) he dismounted his horse.

"We are here to find princess Anna. Be on guard; but _no harm _is to come to the queen. Do you understand," he said, more in the form of a demand than a question. The soldiers that had accompanied him nodded, various 'yes sirs!' being heard from the group. Two men from the group, offered by the duke of Weselton, shared a secret smirk.

Cautiously making his way towards the grand ice staircase which stretched across the dangerous ravine below them, the prince stepped back in shock and his horse reared back as what was presumed to be a snowbank stood and revealed itself to be a gargantuan monster made of snow; the likes of which he had never seen before. It had massive claws made of ice, and two holes in it's face which it was presumably _seeing _out of. As it roared angrily, Hans had little doubt that this was one of the Snow Queen's own creations.

After being shot by various arrows from the soldier's crossbows (which did little to no damage) the snow-giant released a vicious scream, which shook the soldiers to their very core. Massive ice spikes erupted from it's back, and sharp teeth which could easily impale a person should they get too close sprouted from it's mouth.

In an impressive show of strength, the creature swiped a massive hand towards the duke's soldiers, slamming them against a nearby snowbank. As the beast was distracted by prince Hans' feeble attacks, they grabbed their crossbows and ran towards the massive staircase. The auburn haired man turned just in time to notice a sliver of platinum blonde hair disappear behind the now closed doors.

_No! The queen is mine!  
_

With newly found vigor, the prince slashed his sword wildly at the snow creature, all prior swordsmanship training forgotten; because after all, who had ever fought a creature like this and lived to tell the tale?

With a speed that shouldn't have been possible for a thing so large and disproportional, the monster swung a closed fist at the prince, which connected with his side and sent him flying across the snow covered ground. His breath left him in a _woosh, _leaving him very much disoriented. Just before his eyes closed and his vision turned to black, he witnessed his soldiers retreating from the creature in fear. The beast lumbered after them, a single roar leaving its mouth as it disappeared through the trees.

"DON'T COME BACK!"

* * *

Elsa's breath left her in gasps as she stumbled up the icy stairs she had just created not long ago, cursing herself for her love of high-heels. The men who were pursuing her were sporting Weselton colours, an observance which made the queen angrier than she had been a moment ago. She was well aware that the duke was not her biggest fan, but she never imagined that he would actively try and have her captured.

Rounding the corner into one of the largest rooms in the castle, Elsa paused as she realized with a sinking feeling that she was trapped. The doors on the other side of the room led out to her large balcony, and she wasn't about to _jump._ She still had some semblance of modesty left, after all.

Hearing the pounding footsteps behind her echo closer, she had to fight the urge to burst into hysterical laughter, actually having to clamp her hand over mouth to keep it from bubbling out. It was only fitting that she would possibly be captured in the same room where she had struck her sister with her uncontrollable powers.

She turned around as she heard the preparation of arrows about to fire.

"No, please..." she begged, knowing that if attacked, her powers would not hesitate to protect her. With an eerie sense of calm, the larger of the two men raised his crossbow and fired. Raising her hands in an attempt to protect herself, she unknowingly summoned a thin pane of ice which slowed the arrows descent. She gasped as she noticed that the arrow was _right there _in front of her; just a few more inches and it would have been impaled through her face. These men weren't sent to _capture _her, she realized with a start, they were going to _kill her. _

Filled with a new-found sense of urgency, Elsa retaliated, sending spikes if ice towards the men which erupted through the ground towards them. They were surprisingly agile for men so large, and the ice missed them by a wide margin. She lost sight of the larger one, too focused on the man who had his crossbow raised at level with her heart, fully prepared to send her to her early grave. Readying herself to strike, she raised her hands and cried out as something hit her.

Looking down, she gasped as she noticed the crossbow bolt firmly embedded in her left shoulder.

One of them, she wasn't sure who, laughed in triumph. With blood pounding in her ears and shoulder screaming in protest, she sent a flurry of ice spikes towards the direction of the laugh, catching the man off guard and sending him into the wall, where he was pinned by his clothes. Another thinner spike sought out the man's throat, where it stopped just short of breaking through the skin. Too caught up in her anger, she ignored the man's cries of fear as the ice, sharp as a dagger, began to draw blood.

Turning towards the other henchman who was caught between fleeing and fighting, she summoned a large wall of ice, which began to ominously make it's way toward him. He tried in vain to push the ice back, unable to escape because of the sharp edges which boxed him in. Now caught between the door and the ice, he yelled in pain as he felt one of his ribs crack. The door finally, mercifully gave way, and the ice was now pushing him towards his death.

With no one to stop her, Elsa continued with her horrific display of power.

The soldier still inside made an odd gurgling sound as the sword-like spike broke clean through his throat, cutting off his air supply and filling his mouth with blood which began to drip down his suit. Trying in vain to push the ice block back, the man teetered precariously on the edge of the balcony until the ice gave one final push, sending him over the edge.

His ears were filled with the sound of his own screams and the whistle of wind passed his ears until they stopped.

* * *

Hans was awoken by the sound of what he swore was a scream. Making his way towards the now empty staircase, he smirked; completely unaware of the horror that awaited him upstairs.

* * *

**A/N: **So, fun fact I learned just now. Apparently the plural of 'men' is 'menses' according to my spell checker but that just doesn't sound right at all, for some reason :P I just went with men's because menses hits the ear completely wrong (wonder why) and I giggled every time I tried to use it. _Anyway, _there's the prologue! Hope it wasn't too terrible!


	2. Escape from the storm

_Let us not search for the guilty ones only among others, let us speak the bitter truth: we are all guilty ... each and every one of us. _

**Maxim Gorky, Untimely Thoughts**

Readers beware, you're in for an OC ;)

Lots of Hans in this chapter as well.

* * *

Had anyone asked, Hans would swear that he didn't mean to laugh.

Really, he tried, but as soon as he saw what the queen had done he couldn't help himself. It was just so perfect_, _so _delicious _that she would doom herself without him having to get his hands dirty. It was a shame about the duke's men, sure, but everybody was replaceable.

Inspecting the only body that was left in the castle, he let out a low whistle as he surveyed the damage. The dagger-like icicle had gone straight through his throat and out the other side. It was no doubt a slow and painful way to end one's life. Hans allowed himself a smile; he had no idea the queen could be so sadistic.

Looking out the doors towards the balcony, he could only assume that the other man was somehow forced over the edge, something he didn't care to confirm. He wheezed as the pain in his side acted up, allowing him only the smallest of breaths. That damnable snow-beast had gotten him good, at the least several of his ribs were fractured.

With his hand on his side in an attempt to block out the pain, he stumbled as he made his way out of the bloody room and down the crystalline staircase. He would have this place destroyed as soon as he got back to the garbage dump that was Arendelle.

But how would he get back?

His horse was gone; his men had deserted him (something that was not going to go unpunished) and there was still the threat of that beast coming back. Though, without its creator, he wasn't sure there was a reason for it to return. Still, it never hurt to be extra careful. Opening the large double doors that lead outside, he was greeted by a blast of freezing cold wind. The temperature was dropping swiftly, and if he wanted to survive, he needed to find a place to stay for the night.

But when he got back to Arendelle, everyone would learn of exactly what transpired on that hellish mountain top.

* * *

Elsa collapsed on the snow covered ground and gasped for breath. The cold didn't bother her, but she wasn't immune to exhaustion.

She didn't know how long she had been running for, but if she turned around, her crystalline castle would be just a small dot in the distance. Barely able to see through the wind and snow that she herself had created, she picked a random direction and ran for it. In hindsight, it probably hadn't been the best idea now that she had no idea where she was. The wound in her shoulder, although still throbbing slightly, had long since gone numb.

Images flashing in her head, she doubled over and started heaving, though nothing came out. She couldn't remember the last time she had eaten something, and she couldn't believe that just a few hours ago, her worst problem had been getting her sister out of the castle before she ended up hurting her. Now, she was a full blown murderer. There was no way she could return to Arendelle, or -_she shuddered_- face her sister again knowing what she had done. But no one had seen her do it, she reasoned, and no one was brave enough to venture in to the Snow Queen's castle. She was safe for now, provided she didn't die from starvation.

She rolled over on to her back, and stared up at the sky. It was gray, but if she looked closer, she could see the blue peeking out from just behind the clouds. Chest heaving from her escape, she thought of Anna and what she would think if she found out that her big sister had killed someone. Granted, it was in self defense (kill or be killed, if you prefer) but it didn't change the fact that she had killed two people who were already at her mercy. But what had happened to the soldiers outside?

A sudden thought made her want to continue retching. After closing the door to the frozen castle, she had lost sight of prince Hans. Straining her memory of what little she had seen before being hunted by the duke's men like some sort of wild animal, she remembered seeing Marshmallow swing him into the side of a snowbank. It was quite possible that he had regained consciousness and entered the castle. When she thought about it, she wasn't even certain why he was there in the first place. He was likely looking for for Anna, but she couldn't rule out the possibility that he was working with the duke's men. Elsa sneered momentarily in disgust; the person who her sister was going to marry after knowing for a day (a _day!) _was possibly out for her blood.

Thinking of her sister made Elsa feel slightly better and at the same time, very sad. Anna was the only person she had left in her family, and she was willing to desert her for a man she had very literally just met. Maybe this was a way of getting back at her for all those years of isolation? There was no way Anna truly loved this man; his smiles were slightly _too_ wide, his manners _too_ polite to be genuine.

Elsa's stomach flip-flopped as she came to a sudden realization: if Hans had gone into the castle, she knew he would have been _very _thorough in his search for the princess.

He had seen.

There was no way he could have missed it, in her haste to leave behind the horrors she had committed she didn't even think to hide it in any way. Even if she did have time, hiding the evidence of what she had done would have made her feel absolutely filthy, like some common thug on the streets. If she wanted to return home to her kingdom and to her sister, there was only one viable solution. Prince Hans had to get out of the picture.

As the exhaustion overtook her and her eyes slid shut, she felt soft arms lifting her up and away from the cold.

* * *

Hans trudged through the knee deep snow, his pants and boots soaked down to the bone. He possessed no sense of direction, but knew enough to realize that he was in the middle of nowhere. The trees stretched in front of and around him for miles, and there were no footsteps in the snow save for his own. Turning around, he could see the barest hint of the ice palace at the tip of the north mountain; but he would rather freeze to death than stay in such a place.

About to give up on any hope of finding shelter for the night, he let out of laugh of relief as a thin trail of smoke made it's way out from somewhere in the trees. Traveling towards the smoke as if it were the north star, he came through a break in the trees to what looked like a small cabin of some sort. Walking up to the front of the building, he took notice of the sign hanging off the roof.

_Wandering Oaken's trading post... and sauna?_

* * *

_Elsa stared into the crib, regarding her new sister with curiosity. She couldn't believe something could be so small, and so delicate. She was standing on a jutting corner at the bottom of the crib to see, too short to reach the top herself. The baby in the crib looked up at Elsa and gurgled with delight, raising one small, chubby finger towards her. A tuft of downy, red hair was just beginning to grow atop her head. Unsure of what she should do, Elsa decided to grab the baby's finger. Her parents had told her earlier that the baby's name was Anna, and that she was a princess just like her. Elsa looked into Anna's blue eyes, much like her own, and felt something click._

Mine_, she thought. _Mine_. _

_"Want to see a trick?" she asked, holding her hands out for Anna to see. The newborn looked at them curiously, reaching out to touch them again. Elsa pulled her hands just out of reach, and Anna watched as a blue light lit up the partial darkness of the room. Wisps of snow and ice danced around Elsa's hands, swirling in a mixture of blue and white. Anna was entranced, and watched as the magic played about the room, decorating the walls with beautiful patterns of snowflakes, no two quite the same._

_With a steadiness she didn't know she possessed, Elsa lowered her hands into Anna's reach. She grinned with glee when the mixture of ice and snow danced around their hands, just brushing the surface of Anna's delicate skin._

_"What's going on here? What is that, Elsa?"_

_The young child jumped in surprise, whirling around to face her father, the king. Not aware that what she was doing was unnatural, she smiled at her father and held out her hand to show him what was taking place. Her father gasped in horror when he saw that the light was coming from her hands, and that parts of the walls were frozen. In two quick strides he grabbed her, picking her up and breaking her concentration. The light in her hands went out, and Anna started to wail in her crib._

_Elsa felt her eyes well up as her father took her from the room and away from her crying sister, the only thing in the day to make her smile._

* * *

Elsa woke up disoriented, quickly dismissing the bizarre dream (memory?) She could have sworn that she had passed out in the snow outside, but instead found herself in a comfortable bed with heavy, slightly scratchy blankets covering her slight form. It was warm, the small cabin she was in being illuminated by the fireplace that stood off the the side. Inhaling, she could smell some sort of broth cooking in a large pot that was hanging over the fire. Her stomach grumbled; she couldn't remember the last time she had a decent meal. Feeling a sharp pain in her shoulder, she looked down and noticed that her wound had been bandaged, the barest hint of blood showing through the gauze.

Raising herself into a sitting position, she was getting ready to stand when she heard a frantic voice to her left.

"Oh, dear yer awake! Here don't get up, yer still freezin'! Poor thing..." Elsa jumped in surprise, regarding the speaker in shock. It was a woman, who looked to be in her later years, passed middle aged but not quite old, with dark hair and streaks of gray. She wore heavy, fur-lined clothes, with what looked to be an animal pelt draped across her shoulders.

"Walkin' around in this weather in a dress and high heels, what _were _ye thinkin'?" Realizing she was being addressed, Elsa opened her mouth to speak but was cut off before she could do so.

"You're one lucky girl, let me tell ye. Found ye just as ye passed out, sure did," the woman said, making her way over to the pot to give the broth a good stir.

"Shy thing, are ye? That's fine, I'm not much of a talker myself, ye see, livin' in these mountains doesn't give much room for conversation, Heh heh!"

"E-excuse me, but... who are you?" Elsa asked, completely floored by the woman's behaviour. It was like she hadn't a clue who the blonde was.

"Ah, she speaks! The name's Lejá, and who might ye be?" Elsa didn't know what to say. The woman didn't appear to know who she was, but would likely recognize the name. Elsa didn't like the idea of being kicked out so soon, not with her stomach rumbling the way it was.

"My name is... Áila," Elsa replied, taking the name of the younger servants back in Arendelle.

"Well, Áila, what were ye doin' wandering around the forests by yerself? In those clothes, no less!" Elsa looked down, realizing that in the heat of the cabin and her unconsciousness, the dress could very well have _melted _while she was asleep. Sighing in relief when she saw the dress was miraculously intact, she opened her mouth to reply.

"I was looking for someone," she answered. Lejá frowned.

"Well, ain't nobody around these parts, I can tell ye that. Only person crazy enough to venture out here is you, dove." Lejá's eyes widened.

"How could I forget! We need to get ye in some warm clothes. Would've dressed ye myself, but didn't wanna intrude on your uh, privacy," she said, looking momentarily embarrassed. Elsa wanted to protest that no, she didn't need new clothes because her dress was made of _ice _and the weather didn't affect her. She held her tongue.

"Here, Put these on and you'll be warm in no time." Elsa looked at the fur lined clothes and hid her distaste. Never in her life had she worn clothes that looked so... constricting.

"I'm really okay," she insisted. Lejá shook her head energetically.

"Nonsense dove, I insist." Elsa sighed in resignation, taking the clothes and standing up on slightly unstable legs. She gave Lejá a pointed look.

"Oh! Suppose I should turn around... eh heh."

"Thank you." Elsa carefully removed her icy dress (one she was very fond of) and put the heavy winter clothes on. To her surprise they were a snug fit, despite Lejá being much shorter and stouter than she was. She slipped the fur boots on, and had to admit that they were quite comfortable. She found that she liked the ensemble, it made her look... rugged.

"Ye done? Fantastic," the older woman said, not bothering to wait for a response.

"Oh, would you look at that! They fit just fine. Ye want some soup, Áila? Made it meself."

"Oh, that's really ok-"

"I insist. Look at ye, yer a sack of bones! Ye need some meat on ye before ye wither away." Elsa nodded mutely, still not quite comfortable in the older woman's presence. Lejá spoke animatedly as she scooped a large spoon into the pot.

"Can ye believe that snow out there? Was right as rain just a minute ago and then _poof!" _-The woman made a gesture with her hands- "the whole place was covered in snow. Almost magical if you ask me."

"Eh heh, yeah, magical..."

"You were just in the middle of it, what do you think?" The dark haired woman asked, handing Elsa a very appetizing looking bowl of soup. She struggled not to devour it in one large gulp.

"Well I wasn't expecting it, that's for sure." She answered, which wasn't a _total _lie. She didn't wake up that morning knowing that she was about to expose her powers for half the kingdom to see.

"You just sit tight, dear. I'm sure it will all blow over soon."

* * *

Hans was certain that this man was sent from the seventh ring of hell just to torture him. After five minutes with that overgrown ogre of a person, he was ready to take his chances with the blizzard.

"Big summer blowout! Half off swimming suits, clog-" The prince cut him off with an angry huff.

"I _know._ You said that already. All I asked was if two young women passed through here recently." The man pondered for a moment.

"Vell, there vas _one _young lady who passed through here, left not too long ago_..._"

"_What?! _What did she look like? Tell me!" He demanded. The large man behind the counter put his hands up in an attempt to calm the prince down, the infuriating grin never leaving his face.

"Quite the slip of a lass, ginger hair, green dress-"

"Was her name Anna?" Hans asked.

"Haven't any idea. She left vith a very _rude _young lad and his reindeer-"

"Can you tell me which way they went- wait, reindeer?" Hans' brows furrowed. He didn't know anybody who traveled with a reindeer, of all things. He cursed as he realized that she must have been on her way to the north mountain, and he had probably missed her long ago. He repeated his last question.

"Can you just tell me which way they were going?"

"Vell, I could, but my memory is a little hazy. Perhaps a purchase vould clear it up? I'll even through in a visit to Oaken sauna- _woohoo_! Hi family!"

"_Woohoo!_"

Hans stared open mouthed at the bizarre scene, before slamming his hands on the table.

"Listen to me, you big oaf, you're going to tell me where they we-" His speech was cut off as the man rose from his place behind the desk, revealing a mountain of muscle which made Hans gulp in fear.

"Vat did you _call _me?"

Hans slept on a hay bail that night.


End file.
